FANS WATCH FINAL THE WEMBLEY WAY

A group of Chelsea and Spurs fans are set to enjoy the ultimate armchair football experience after Carling decided to bring Wembley to their front room.

With the Carling Cup Final hugely over-subscribed Carling is treating two lucky sets of supporters to a Wembley makeover featuring club legends, opera singers, perimeter boards, match ball and programme and even a marching band.

The ‘Sponsors Lounge’ will see fans from both clubs experience the excitement and traditions of the game from the comfort of their armchairs.

A Chelsea legend and a Spurs legend will each provide commentary on the game from their respective fans’ lounge and a marching band will keep the fans and their mates entertained ahead of kick-off as they perform in their street. An opera singer will even perform the national anthem live in their lounge at 2.50pm.

The fans’ lounges will be given a stadium-like feel as Carling will construct life-size Carling perimeter boards in the lounges, hand out official match day programmes hot off the press and give the fans the official match ball to boot.

Meanwhile hot-dogs will be served at half time, alongside chilled Carling, so the fan and their mates can enjoy the game in style and not battle the half-time queues.

Carling Cup Marketing Manager Richard Smith said: “If they can’t make it to Wembley we thought we’d bring Wembley to them. We’ve got over 3,000 teams signed up to our Pub Football community – most of them play on a Sunday so will miss the Final as they don’t want to let their team-mates down.

“With this in mind it seemed like a good idea to offer them the chance to have a unique Carling Cup Final experience at home. Although nothing can replace being in the stadium and watching the big match live, getting all your mates around to your house and having a beer on Carling is a pretty good second.

“The idea is that each lounge will look and feel as much like the Cup Final day as possible – capturing the great traditions of a showpiece final and the fantastic atmosphere which goes with it.”

Carling has recently set out on a campaign to create one off experiences for members of their pub football website. Teams who are up for a “Sponsors Lounge,“ or taking part in other big events should go to www.carling.com/pubfootball/sponsors_lounge and enter their details*.

Footage from the day will be uploaded to Carling’s website for fans to show their mates.